Projectile launcher and method of operating the same

ABSTRACT

A toy projectile launcher configured to launch projectiles therefrom. The toy projectile launcher having: a housing; a handle portion rotatably received within the housing; a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein a portion of the projectile launcher in the housing is configured to be transitioned from a first position to a second position as the handle portion rotates with respect to the housing from a first position and a second position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/054,036 filed Sep. 23, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a toy projectile launcher or dart launching mechanism and a method of operating the same.

Darts or toy projectiles have been used in toy guns, blasters or other toys to provide an enhanced play factor to the toy blasters or toys. Children and/or adults desire to play with projectile launchers that can launch projectiles.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a toy projectile launcher that utilizes a new way to play. It is also desirable to provide a toy projectile launcher that is cocked and loaded in a new manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a toy is provided. The toy having: a housing; a handle portion rotatably received within the housing; a trigger mechanism, wherein the projectile launcher is configured to be positioned or “cocked” into a firing state by having the housing portion traverse from a first position to a second position by moving along a curved surface of the handle portion.

A toy projectile launcher configured to launch projectiles therefrom. The toy projectile launcher having: a housing; a handle portion rotatably received within the housing; a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein a portion of the projectile launcher in the housing is configured to be transitioned from a first position to a second position as the handle portion rotates with respect to the housing from a first position and a second position.

A toy having: a housing; a handle portion rotatably mounted to the housing for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein movement of the handle portion between the first position and the second position causes a rack to move from a first position to a second position and, wherein movement of the rack from the first position to the second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack; a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein actuation of the trigger mechanism releases the rack from the second position and causes a dart to be launched from the toy.

A method of launching a dart from a toy, the method including the steps of: rotatably mounting a handle portion to a housing for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein movement of the handle portion between the first position and the second position causes a rack to move from a first position to a second position and, wherein movement of the rack from the first position to the second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack; and actuating a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein actuation of the trigger mechanism releases the rack from the second position and causes the dart to be launched from the toy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a device or toy for launching a dart or projectile in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the device or toy illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a portion of the housing removed;

FIG. 3A is a side view of the device or toy illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a portion of the housing removed;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device or toy illustrated in FIGS. 1-3A with a handle portion rotated from the position illustrated in FIGS. 1-3A;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the device or toy illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 with the device or toy in an un-cocked state;

FIG. 6 is a view of the device or toy along with a target;

FIG. 7 is front view of the device or toy having its shield portions deployed;

FIG. 8 is a view of the handle portion with a portion removed to illustrate its inner workings;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the handle portion removed from the housing of the device or toy;

FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a device or toy according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a front end view of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a rear end view of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are opposite side views of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 15 is a top view of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the device or toy illustrated in FIG. 10.

Although the drawings represent varied embodiments and features of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to illustrate and explain exemplary embodiments the present invention. The exemplification set forth herein illustrates several aspects of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the FIGS., a toy, toy gun, toy blaster or apparatus 10 for launching a toy projectile or dart 12 constructed in accordance with various non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the present invention is illustrated. In one embodiment, the toy projectile or dart 12 is similar to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/838,900 filed Mar. 15, 2013 as well as PCT application PCT/US14/28092 filed Mar. 14, 2014, the entire contents each of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. The toy blaster or apparatus 10 can be referred to alternatively as a toy gun or launching device 10.

Apparatus 10, hereinafter referred to as toy 10, has a main housing 14. In one embodiment, housing 14 comprises a pair of housing portions 16 and 18 (see FIG. 3) configured to be secured to each other by, for example, a plurality of screws 20.

Toy 10 includes a handle portion 22 rotatably secured to the housing 14 for movement between a first position 24 illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and a second position 26 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3A. Movement of the handle portion 22 between the first position 24 and the second position 26 is achieved by rotation of the handle portion 22 in the direction of arrows 28. An outer periphery 30 of the handle portion 22 has several teeth 32 formed therein. Teeth 32 engage and activate a gear train 34 (see FIG. 3) as the handle portion 22 is rotated from the first position 24 to the second position 26.

Movement of the handle portion 22 from the first position 24 to the second position 26 causes a first gear 36 of the gear train 34 to rotate counter clockwise with respect to the view illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5. First gear 36 is configured to engage a second gear 38 and rotate the second gear 38 in a clockwise direction with respect to the view illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5 as gear 36 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction. Second gear 38 is operatively coupled to a third gear 40, which rotates in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to the view illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5 as second gear 38 rotates in a clockwise direction. Third gear 40 is operatively coupled to a fourth gear 42, which rotates in a clockwise direction with respect to the view illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5 as third gear 40 rotates in a counter clockwise direction.

Fourth gear 42 is operatively coupled to or engaged with a rack 44 such that as fourth gear 42 rotates in a clockwise direction, rack 44 moves in the direction of arrow 46 due to the teeth of gear 42 engaging the teeth of rack 44. Rack 44 is mounted in the housing 14 for movement between a first position 48 illustrated in FIG. 5 and a second position 50 illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A and 4. Movement of the rack 44 from the first position 48 in the direction of arrow 46 is caused by the rotation of handle portion 22 from its first position 24 to its second position 26. As described above, such movement of the handle portion 22 causes the rotation of the gear train 34 and movement of the rack 44 in the direction of arrow 46. Although several gears are illustrated in gear train 34, it is understood that gear train 34 may have more or fewer gears than the quantity illustrated in the FIGS. For example, in alternative embodiments, the teeth 32 of handle portion 22 may directly engage rack 44 or a single gear may be disposed therebetween.

As the rack 44 is moved from its first position 48 to its second position 50, a spring 52 located in a cylinder 54 is compressed by a piston 56 operatively coupled or secured to rack 44. Once rack 44 reaches its second position 50, a locking member 58 engages a slot or feature 70 located on a surface of rack 44 in order to retain rack 44 in its second position 50 and thus retain spring 52 in a compressed state.

Referring to FIG. 3A, locking member 58 is located in the housing 14 for movement along the direction of arrows 72 and is spring biased downwardly towards handle portion 22 by a spring 74 or any other equivalent device such that once rack 44 reaches its second position 50, locking member 58 engages feature 70 and rack 44 is maintained in its second position 50 against the biasing force of spring 52.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in order to release the biasing force of spring 52 and allow piston 56 to force pressurized air or fluid through a nozzle opening 76 of the cylinder 54 a trigger mechanism 78 is provided. Trigger mechanism 78 includes a trigger 80, which when actuated causes a tab member 82 to move upwardly in the direction of arrow 84 and contact a leg member 86 of locking member 58 and thus move locking member 58 upward in the direction of arrow 84 such that an opening of locking member 58 through which rack 44 slidably moves no longer engages feature 70 and rack 44 moves in a direction opposite to that of arrow 46. As mentioned above, this movement of the rack 44 results in the movement of the piston, thereby compressing air to be forced out of nozzle opening 76 to launch a dart.

Referring to FIG. 4, nozzle opening 76 is in fluid communication with a dart cylinder or launching cylinder 88 via a movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 that is also movably mounted to the housing 14 for movement in the direction of arrows 72 for movement between a first position 92 wherein fluid communication between nozzle opening 76 and dart cylinder 88 is provided and a second position 94 wherein fluid communication between nozzle opening 76 and dart cylinder 88 is prevented and thus compressed air from cylinder 54 does not enter dart cylinder 88 from nozzle opening 76 even though trigger mechanism 78 is actuated and the piston 56 is moved towards nozzle opening 76.

It being understood that in one embodiment, movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 has an opening that aligns with nozzle opening 76 and an opening of the dart cylinder 88 when the movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 is in the first position and the opening of the movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 does not align with nozzle opening 76 and the opening of the dart cylinder 88 when the movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 is in the second position.

Accordingly, movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 prevents compressed air from being provided to dart cylinder 88 unless a properly sized dart 12 is received within dart cylinder 88. For example, if the rack 44 is in the second position 50 and the trigger is released and the movable shuttle or safety mechanism 90 is in the second position, the compressed air from cylinder 54 will simply be released into housing 14 instead of dart cylinder 88.

Once dart 12 is received within dart cylinder 88, a movable member 96 having a portion located in an opening 98 of the dart cylinder 88 is moved downwardly in the direction of arrow 100 (see FIG. 4). This is due to the fact that a portion of the movable member 96 in dart cylinder 88 is pushed out of the dart cylinder 88 when a dart 12 is inserted therein. The movable member 96 is operatively coupled to an arm member 102, which is pivotally mounted to the housing 14 and also operatively coupled to safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90 such that movement of member 96 in the direction of arrow 98 causes safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90 to move in a direction opposite to arrow 98.

As such, movement of member 96 in the directions of arrows 100 and 84 causes movement of safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90 in the direction of arrows 100 and 84 (see FIG. 4) or between the first and second positions 92 and 94 of the safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90. In other words, unless a properly sized dart 12 is placed in dart cylinder 88, safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90 will prevent cylinder 54 from being in fluid communication with dart cylinder 88. On the other hand, if a properly sized dart 12 is placed in dart cylinder 88 safety mechanism or movable shuttle 90 allows cylinder 54 to be in fluid communication with dart cylinder 88 and thus actuation of trigger 80 when rack 44 is in its second position will cause the dart 12 to be launched from toy 10.

In one embodiment, toy 10 is contemplated for use with a target 104. Target 104 may have a surface material 106 suitable for adhesion with a tip material 108 of dart 12. Toy 10 may also be configured with a pair of shield members 110 rotatably and pivotally mounted to the housing 14 for rotational movement in the direction of arrows 112 and movement between a stowed position 114 (see at least FIGS. 1, 2 and 6) and a deployed position 116 (see at least FIG. 7). In one embodiment, shield members 110 may have a surface material 118 suitable for adhesion with material 108 of dart 12.

In one embodiment and in order to allow rotational movement of the shield members 110 in the direction of arrows 112. A portion of the shield members 110 is secured to a shaft 120 rotatably received in housing 14 and secured to disk member 122 rotatably received in housing 14. Disk member 122 is capably of being rotated and retained in a plurality of positions via a movable arm member 124, which is resilient for movement towards and away from disk member 122 and engages features 126 of disk member 122 as it is rotated in order to retain the shield members 110 in various positions with respect to housing 14.

Referring back now to the trigger mechanism 78, as trigger 80 is actuated, the fourth gear 42 is pushed upwardly in the direction of arrow 128 on shaft 130 so that the teeth of gear 42 do not engage the teeth of rack 44. In one embodiment, this is achieved by movement of locking member 58 upward in the direction of arrow 84. In one embodiment, gear 42 is spring biased in a direction opposite to that of arrow 128 via a spring 132 located on shaft 130. This movement or disengagement of gear 42 from rack 44 allows the gear train 34 to be decoupled from the rack 44 as the rack 44 moves from its second position to its first position due to spring 52. Accordingly, the gear train 34 does not have to be back driven during this movement of the rack 44 (e.g., second position to first position) and therefore allows piston 56 to force a sufficient amount of air from nozzle opening 76 in order to launch the dart 12 from the toy 10.

Referring now to at least FIG. 7, a forward portion 134 of the toy 10 has a plurality of openings 136 in addition to opening 138 of dart cylinder 88. Openings 136 provide a plurality of storage locations for darts or projectiles 12.

Toy 10 includes a mechanism that determines when the toy 10 is “cocked” (e.g., rack 44 is in its second position 50) and ready to launch a dart 12. The mechanism is activated when an extended tab portion 140 extends from housing 14 when the rack 44 is in its second position 50.

Handle portion 22 has a release mechanism 142, that retains the handle portion 22 in either the first position 24 or the second position 26 with respect to the housing 14. The release mechanism has a button 144 which when actuated allows handle portion 22 to rotate in the direction of arrow 28 with respect to housing 14. In one embodiment, actuation of button 144 disengages a tab member 146 from handle portion 22 such that it can be rotated from its first position 24 to its second position 26 wherein rack 44 is moved in the direction of arrow 46 until handle portion 22 is locked into is second position 26 and actuation of button 144 is required to rotate handle portion 22 from its second position 26 to its first position 24.

Accordingly and in order to “cock” or charge the toy 10 so a projectile 12 can be fired therefrom. Handle portion 22 must be rotated from its first position 24 to its second position 26, wherein rack 44 is moved in the direction of arrow 46. Thereafter and in order to release rack 44 and fire the projectile 12 from toy 10, button 144 will need to be actuated and handle portion 22 must be rotated from its second position 26 to its first position 24.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the handle portion 22. In FIG. 8 a portion of the housing of the handle portion 22 is removed to illustrate the inner workings of the trigger mechanism 78 and the release mechanism 142. The trigger 80 of the trigger mechanism 78 is spring biased forward in the direction of arrow 148 by a spring 150. Once a user depresses trigger 80 in a direction opposite to arrow 148 in order to overcome the biasing force of spring 150 tab member 82 is pushed upwardly and away from handle portion 22 in order to release rack 44 as described above.

Button 144 of release mechanism 142 is also spring biased forward in the direction of arrow 148 by a spring 152. Once a user depresses button 144 in a direction opposite to arrow 148 in order to overcome the biasing force of spring 152, linking members 154 of the release mechanism 142 are retracted into the housing of the handle portion 22 via rotational or pivotal movement of member 156. This causes tab members 146 located at the ends of the linking members 154 to be drawn into the housing of the handle portion 22. Once drawn into the housing the tab members 146 no longer engage complimentary features or openings in the housing 14. This allows the handle portion 22 to now be able to be rotated between the first portion 24 and the second position 26. Once the button 144 is released, the tab members 146 will again protrude from the housing of the handle portion 22 and at least one of the tab members 146 engages a complimentary opening or feature in the housing 14 in order to retain the handle portion 22 in either the first or second position.

As used herein, the terms “first,” “second,”—and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. In addition, it is noted that the terms “bottom” and “top” are used herein, unless otherwise noted, merely for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation.

The modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity).

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A toy projectile launcher configured to launch projectiles, comprising: a housing; a handle portion rotatably coupled to the housing; and a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein a portion of the projectile launcher in the housing transitions from a first position to a second position as the handle portion rotates with respect to the housing from a first position and a second position.
 2. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 1, wherein the an outer periphery of the handle portion includes several teeth and the teeth engage and activate a gear train in the housing as the handle portion is rotated from the first position to the second position.
 3. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 2, wherein the gear train includes several gears and one of the gears engages a rack such that as the one of the gears rotates due to rotation of the handle portion, the rack moves linearly from a first position to a second position.
 4. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 3, wherein movement of the rack from its first position to its second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack.
 5. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 4, further comprising: a locking member configured to retain the rack in the second position.
 6. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 5, wherein the locking member is operatively coupled to the trigger mechanism.
 7. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 6, wherein the locking member engages a slot located on a surface of the rack in order to retain the rack in its second position.
 8. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 6, wherein the trigger mechanism includes a trigger, which when actuated causes a tab member to move upwardly from the handle portion and contact the locking member and disengage the locking member from the rack in order to allow the rack to move from its second position to its first position due to the spring located in a cylinder of the housing, wherein movement of the rack from its second position to its first position causes compressed air to be forced out of a nozzle opening of the cylinder.
 9. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 1, further comprising: a release mechanism configured to retain the handle portion in either the first or second position with respect to the housing and wherein the release mechanism further comprises a button which when actuated allows the handle portion to rotate with respect to the housing.
 10. A toy, comprising: a housing; a handle portion rotatably mounted to the housing for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein movement of the handle portion between the first position and the second position causes a rack to move from a first position to a second position and, wherein movement of the rack from the first position to the second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack; and a trigger mechanism located in the handle portion, wherein actuation of the trigger mechanism releases the rack from the second position and causes a dart to be launched from the toy.
 11. The toy as in claim 10, wherein the an outer periphery of the handle portion includes several teeth and the teeth engage and activate a gear train operatively coupled to the rack as the handle portion is rotated from the first position to the second position.
 12. The toy as in claim 11, wherein movement of the rack from the first position to the second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack.
 13. The toy as in claim 12, further comprising: a locking member configured to retain the rack in the second position, wherein the locking member is operatively coupled to the trigger mechanism; and a release mechanism configured to retain the handle portion in either the first or second position with respect to the housing and wherein the release mechanism further comprises a button which when actuated allows the handle portion to rotate with respect to the housing.
 14. The toy as in claim 10, wherein movement of the rack from the first position to the second position causes a spring located in a cylinder of the housing to be compressed by a piston operatively coupled to the rack.
 15. The toy as in claim 10, further comprising: a locking member configured to retain the rack in the second position, wherein the locking member is operatively coupled to the trigger mechanism; and a release mechanism configured to retain the handle portion in either the first or second position with respect to the housing and wherein the release mechanism further comprises a button which when actuated allows the handle portion to rotate with respect to the housing.
 16. The toy projectile launcher as in claim 15, wherein the locking member engages a slot located on a surface of the rack in order to retain the rack in its second position. 